Nursing appliance.



PATENT-ED, MAR. 1, 1904.

` A. s. D1X oN.

NURSING ABPLIANGB. APPLICATION FILED APB. 23. 1901.

N0 MODEL.

swb v UNITED STATES` Patented March 1, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.'

ALBERT S. DIXON, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

NURSING APPLIANCE SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 753,683, dated March 1, 1904.

Application filed April 23, 1901.

l'o a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT STANLEY DIXON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Nursing Appliance, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices forsupplying an infant with liquid food, and comprises the combination of a bottle and a resilient support for the bottle, which will behereinafter more fully set forth.

It also comprises a resilient support for a nursing-bottle peculiarly adapted for holding the nursing bottle in appropriate position within reach and within control of the infant,

4 as will hereinafter more fully appear.-

Some objects of the invention are to provide a nursing-bottle holder which will balance the bottle in such a manner that but little effort on the part of the child will bring the bottle into proper position and to alloviT the bottle to be held by the child in such a position that the entire contents ,may be drained from the bottle, and if the infant releases the bottle the bottle will be raised by the resilient bottle-holder to such a level that'its contents will not leak through the nipple.

It is also an object to provide adevice which will be readily attachable and detachable to and from a baby bugg crib, or other device, but in such a manner that the infant cannot remove it from its fastening nor throw it upon the floor.

Another object of the invention is to provide an appliance adapted for use as a nursing-bottle holder which when not in such use will serve as a toy for the child to give it eX- ercise for the arms and which can also be used by the child as a teething-ring.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. I

Figure I is a view of the appliance in use. Dotted lines show a positionV of the invention when not'in use. Fig. II is a detail of the same, showing the preferred means for attaching the appliance to a baby buggy. Fig. III is a side view illustrating the preferred means Serial No. 57,145. (No model.)

for attaching the appliance to a baby-buggy, crib, &c.

This nursing appliance comprises a spring a, a support b for holding the spring with its free end normally directed upward, and a nursing-bottle c, fastened to the upper portion of said spring to flex said spring from a perpendicular and to be resiliently supported by such spring. The springis preferably socketed to the support b and is more flexible atk one end than at the other, and preferably the weaker end of the spring is applied to the support The spring may-be of india-rubber or any other suitable material, but is preferably formed of a wire coil of less diameter and more flexible at one end than the other, the bottle being fastened to the smaller and less flexible end, as shown in the drawings. The coil preferably tapers from its base, in which the post b is inserted.

Suitable means are provided for attaching the post to a support. For this purpose the post is hollow, and a socketed'stem l is provided to be inserted in saidpost. A wireloop 2 is fastened to the stem, and suitable means, such as the screw 3, are provided for drawing the stem through the hollow post to force said post against the wire loop. The wire loop is preferably fastened to the stem by means of an eye 1 in the stem, through which the ends of the wire loop are passed, and after being drawn tightly around the wicker-work or other part of the baby-buggy or other support to which the supporting-post is to be attached the ends of the wire will be bent through the eye and the hollow post brought into position on thestem and will be there secured by screwing the screw into the stem and'against the post. When thus rmly fastened, the resilient holder can be secured upon the post by pushing the coil down around the post. The coil and post are proportioned so that the coil will lit tightlyuponthe post and be held there by its own resiliency. The spring-wire is preferably bent to form an elongated tapering spiral and also to form an extension 5 beyond said spiral and bent into a loop 6 to receive the neck of the bottle, the

loop standing at right angles to the extension and to the axis of the coil. When the neck of the bottle is inserted through said loop, the body of the bottle will be fastened by means of a band e passed around said bottle and fastened to said spring. The band is preferably elastic and may be made of india-rubber, and it is preferably fastened in an eye 7, formed by bending the spring-wire at the' end of the spiral thereof, the axis of the eye preferably standing at right angles to the extension and to the axis of the coil. The spring-wire forms an extension beyond the eye and is formed in the loop 6 at the end of the extension. This loop 6 is preferably covered with a rubber tube 8 to serve as a teething-ring for the infant. w When the bottle is removed, the infant may use the appliance as an exercising device and also for teething.

By making the holder of coiled wire greater strength and iexibility is secured than if it were made of a straight piece of material, and there is less liability of its being-broken, as no 4bending that can be applied to it by the occupant of the carriage can possibly break it or prevent its assuming its normal position as soon as the strain is removed. By forming the spiral with a gradual taper and with the smaller or stiffer end at the bottle the tendency of the bottle to tip over or stand with the nipple downward is avoided, and especially when the bottle is filled, as the weight of the filled bottle will cause the spring to give or yield at its weakest point or nearer its support and not abruptly, as would be the tendency with the weaker part nearer the bottle.

The loop 6 is made of such a size that the neck of any make of bottle may be held therein, and by usinga removable rubber band for supporting the other end of the bottle the device can be readily adapted for any style of bottle. The large loop will also permit of the mouth or nipple of the bottle being drawn over laterally by the infant for insertion in the mouth, the flexibility of the elastic band a-t the other end permitting this movement, thereby -enabling the infant to nurse more readily than could be done if the bottle were so secured or suspended that it would not have this lateral movement. The loop is arranged at one side of the axis of the coil, which will cause the weight of the bottle and its contents to automatically iiex or bend the support toward the infant, and thereby per# mit of its being more easily grasped by the infant.

When the bottle is in place, the resilient support will hold the bottle up so that the liquid cannot drain out through the nipple.` When the child wishes to nurse, he will catch hold of the bottle and draw it down into the position shown in Fig. I, and can thus partake of the nourishment until the liquid is all drained from the bottle. If at any time hc releases the bottle and its support, the bottle will be returned to a position that will prevent the liquid from flowing out through the nipple.

indicates a sheath around the wire fastening-loop to protect the wicker or other work of the baby bugg crib, or other device.

Preferably the screw 3 has a flanged head 9, which is preferably semispherical and is slotted to receive a screwdriver, so that the top of the post will be practically smooth.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. A nursing appliance comprising a spring which is more flexible at one end than at the other; a support for the weaker end of the spring, and from which the spring extends upwardly, and means for attaching a bottle to the other end of the spring.

2. A nursing appliance comprising a spring formed of an elongated wire coil of less diameter and less flexible at one end than at the other; and means for fastening a bottle to the smaller and less iiexible end at one side of the axis of the coil.

3. A nursing appliance comprising an elongated tapering coil of spring-wire, a post inserted into the larger end of said coil; means for attaching the post to a support; and means for fastening a bottle to the smaller end of the tapering coil.

t. A nursing appliance comprisinga hollow post, a screw-stem in said post, a wire loop fastened to the stem, means'for drawing the stem through the hollow post to force said post against the wire loop, a spring formed of a wire coil embracing said post and extending upward therefrom, and a nursing-bottle fastened to the free end of said spring to liex the same and to be resiliently supported thereby.

5. Anursing appliance comprisingaspringwire bent to form an elongated tapering spiral and to form an extension beyond said spiral and bent into a loop to receive the neck of a bottle; a nursing-bottle with its neck inserted through said loop; and a removable band passed around said bottle and fastened to said spring.

6. A nursing appliance comprising a spring furnished at its free end with a loop; a nursing-bottle having its neck inserted through the loop; and an elastic band around the body of the nursing bottle and fastened to the spring.

7 A nursing appliance comprising a springwire bent to form an elongated tapering spiral, an eye at the end of the spiral, an extension beyond the eye, and a loop at the end of the extension; a nursing-bottle having its neck inserted through said loop, said loop being of considerably greater diameter than the neck IIO of the bottle; and an elastic band caught in said eye and embracing the body of said bottle.

8. A nursngbottle holder comprising a In testimony whereof I have signed my name I O to thls specification, 1n the presence of two subscrlbln g Witnesses, at Los Angeles, Cahfornia,

spring-Wire bent into a tapering coil and bent this 26th day of March, 1901.

at the smaller end of said col into an eye and from thence formed in an extension and finally bent into a loop for holding the neck of a bottle, said loop and the axis of the eye standing at right angles to the axis of the coil.

ALBERT S. DIXON.

Witnesses:

JAMES R. ToWNsEND, JULIA ToWNsEND. 

